Men and women involuntarily sterilized in North Carolina took one step closer this week to being financially compensated by the state.

The General Assembly passed the first vote on a bill that would pay eugenics victims who were sterilized from 1929 to 1974 through a state program.

Rep. Larry Womble of Forsyth County has been at the forefront of a movement to recognize and apologize to people who were forced to have the procedure, often because of race or financial status....

North Carolina had a program in place that ordered specific candidates to be sterilized, but the procedures weren’t always performed under state order, according to Charmaine Fuller Cooper, director of the N.C. Justice for Sterilization Victims Foundation.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A bill to compensate people sterilized against their will through a state-sponsored program decades ago has cleared another North Carolina House committee, despite concerns from some Republicans about the plan's ultimate price tag.

The House Appropriations Committee voted Tuesday for the measure that would set aside $11 million next year to pay remaining survivors of North Carolina's eugenics program $50,000 each. The bill cleared two committees last week. Its next stop is the House floor.

Forced Sterilization Update for Victims in North Carolina
Thursday, May 31, 2012

Anderson uncovers the secret world of forced sterilization in this country and speaks with 82-year-old Charlie, who was forcibly sterilized at the age of 14 because his parents were alcoholics and he was in an orphanage.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

A new documentary on E! Network called "A Family Tragedy: The Powells", features the first interviews with the psychologist who worked with Josh Powell. It paints an even darker picture of Powell, who died earlier this year when he set his house on fire after killing both his young sons.

Forensic psychologist Dr. James Manley, who works for the state of Washington, says in the documentary that investigators found computer-generated videos and photos that show adults having sex with children.

"And there was [sic] about fifteen images that I found the most disturbing - and they were very lifelike - computerized drawings of adults and children having sex in various ways," Dr. Manley tells Laura Ling in the documentary.

The images prompted Dr. Manley to recommend a psycho- sexual evaluation. He says the pornography wasn't a good sign for a parenting situation....

Relatives were also fighting to keep custody of Powell's two kids, fearing that Powell had been involved in the high-profile disappearance of his wife, Susan Cox Powell. It is unclear whether or not they were aware of the pornography.

Child Pornography in France, Belgium and the Netherlands
By James R. Marsh on May 29, 2012

Here is a recent documentary on child pornography in France, Belgium and the Netherlands by French journalist Karl Zéro. The report focuses on the Marc Dutroux affair which was widely reported in the international press in 2004.

An excellent in-depth exposé of the European perspective on child pornography and child exploitation with a focus the seeming inability and unwillingness of France to deal with this problem.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

On final day of testimony, Philadelphia monsignor apologizes for priest’s sex assault

By Associated Press Tuesday, May 29, 2012

PHILADELPHIA — A Roman Catholic church official apologized to a priest sex-abuse victim on the final day of testimony in his groundbreaking child-endangerment trial....

Lynn, 61, who served as the Philadelphia archdiocese secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, is the first U.S. church official charged over his handling of priest-abuse complaints. He and the Rev. James Brennan have been on trial for 10 weeks.

Brennan has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a teen in 1996. Defrocked priest Edward Avery pleaded guilty to a 1999 sexual assault days before trial and is in prison.

Lynn testified that he tried to get accused priests out of parishes and into treatment, but said his power was limited because Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua had the final say....

Lynn said that Bevilacqua would not permanently remove a priest unless he was a diagnosed pedophile. That was rare among the dozens of priests accused of raping or molesting children in Philadelphia.

Dr. Karriker believes that to deny the existence of ritual abuse and/or mind control is to desecrate the memory of victims who died at the hands of evil and to discredit the work of all people who have striven to expose crimes in which abusive rituals, mind control techniques, and similar forms of extreme abuse have been used to sexually exploit, physically harm, emotionally torment, and spiritually damage its victims. In this webinar, she will (1) discuss the rationale for and the development of the Extreme Abuse Survey Series conducted online in English and German in 2007; (2) share responses from more than 2,000 survivors, professional helpers, and child caregivers from six continents which validate that individual survivors are not alone in their struggles with the aftereffects of these unspeakable crimes; and (3) tell webinar participants about the efforts that the EAS researchers have made and will continue to make (via a book to be published later this year in English and German) to honor their commitment to provide opportunities for the voices of extreme abuse survivors to be heard around the world.

Conference Goals
- To help stop future occurrences of ritual abuse
- To help survivors of ritual abuse
- To name the groups that have participated in alleged illegal activities
- To unite those working to stop ritual abuse

Conference Schedule
There will be a small get together, deli dinner, dessert and early registration for pre-registered attendees only, on August 10, Friday evening. The conference will be all day on Saturday August 11 and Sunday August 12. Please check our conference home page for the latest conference schedule information. Some presentations will also be recorded.

Name: (please include names and individual addresses of all registrees, thanks.)

___________________________

Agency: ___________________________________

Street: ____________________________

City: ___________________State:______

Zip:________E-mail_________________

Fees
Early registration fees (all fees are per person)
(note: fees must be received by the due date below to get the special prices)

One and two day registrations do not include the Friday deli dinner and dessert buffet.

Before 6/10/12 – 2 day $175, one day $90 (until June 5, Friday night included in this price)
Before 7/10/12- 2 day $185, one day $95
Before 8/1/12 – 2 day $205, one day $105
After 8/6/12 – 2 day $215, one day $110
(All fees must be received by due dates above.)

Please note: Listing of these speakers does not necessarily constitute our endorsement of them. They are speaking at our conference for educational value only and some may be heavy for survivors. Listening to the speakers at the conference may or may not help your recovery process, so use caution when listening to any speaker or contacting any resource mentioned in this brochure. These descriptions may be heavy for survivors to read, so please use caution while reading these.

Neil Brick is a survivor of Masonic based Ritual Abuse and MK-ULTRA. He is the editor of S.M.A.R.T. – A Ritual Abuse Newsletter. His topic is: Recent Child Abuse Crimes and Efforts to Unite Survivors.

Shamai Currim PhD is a retired therapist, educator, and educational consultant. She continues to work with survivors and has been involved with children and families with special needs, AIDS hospice, and Prison communities. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of Survivorship and the Steering Committee of the Association for the Advancement of Psychosynthesis. Her topic is: Meaghan’s Story: A Tale of Integration

deJoly LaBrier has been doing recovery work for 22 yrs. She has spoken publicly about her experiences in a military sex ring, Satanic cult and government experimentation; and is grateful for the serenity and sanity she now experiences. Her topic is: Finding Our Individual Paths Out of Chaos

Dave Staffen was satanically abused for over 50 years by those he loved and trusted, as well as others who were paid to harm him for his refusal, as a child to join their cult. Dave hopes his story and recovery will help others by giving them hope and courage. His topic is: My Life and Attitudes Before and After My Recovery

Sarah Jacqueline freed herself through deep self-journey from years of living in hell as an alleged victim of satanic abuse to now survivor. Born into a family of Satanists and has experienced and seen some horrific abuse. She speaks of hope and freeing and illusion. Her topic is: Exposing Satanic Abuse

Until age seven, Maria was subject to satanic abuse. Maria experienced perverse worship, torturous brain programming, sexual violence, body dislocations, and was drugged. Although relocated at age seven, molestation from random strangers and family members continued until she moved out. She lives well with profound awareness. She now experiences joy and peace. Her topic is : Free at Last

Alexandra is a multi disciplinary therapist. She incorporates various types of energy work, muscle testing, NLP, essential oils, and color into her cognitive behavioral therapy practice. She has an M. A. in Counseling Psychology and has been working with ritual abuse survivors for over 20 years. Her topic is: What I have learned so far.

Survivorship is an international non-profit organization for survivors of sadistic sexual abuse, ritualistic abuse, mind control, and torture. A history of Survivorship’s last twenty plus years of work helping survivors will be presented with interviews from members of Survivorship. The presentation will include Survivorship’s present day activities and ways survivors can learn more about the organization and get involved. Survivorship, FJC,470 27th St., Oakland, Ca 94612 survivorshipstaff@yahoo.com http://www.survivorship.org

Sponsorship and Co-sponsorship Information

All sponsors and cosponsors have made promotional contributions to the conference. We want to thank them for all their efforts.

Please note: Listing of these resource organizations does not necessarily constitute our endorsement of them. They are helping to promote the conference and some may be heavy for some survivors, so use caution contacting any resource mentioned in this brochure.

Mothers Against Sexual Abuse (MASA) 404 Wilson St., Union, SC 29379 864-429-9161 Updated website at http://www.Againstsexualabuse.org, newest book http://www.Childhooditshouldnothurt.com MASA is dedicated to education and helping survivors of sexual and ritual abuse. We are in the process of trying to raise funding for a legal defense fund to assist protective parents involved in court cases where the perpetrators are winning custody over 70% of the time. MASA will be celebrating our 20 birthday March 25, 2012. We are proud of our accomplishments, but there is still so much work to be done. Every person must become a voice for the children who have no voice and no choice.

The North American Truth & Reconciliation Coalition (NATRC) seeks to raise public awareness about historical and ongoing human rights violations in North America, and works to establish an accurate and truthful historical record of such crimes, including human trafficking, organized ritual crime, child soldiering, mind control experimentation and other forms of torture, in both the private and public spheres. The North American Truth & Reconciliation Coalition (NATRC) PO Box 401 Council Bluffs, IA 51502-0401 http://natrcoalition.org

The Mission of the California Protective Parents Association is to protect children from incest and family violence through research, education and advocacy. California Protective Parents Association PO Box 15284 Sacramento CA 95851-0284 http://www.protectiveparents.com/cppa001@aol.com

Conference Information

Conference Participants
The conference will include all those either recovering from ritual abuse and/or fighting against ritual abuse. This includes survivors, co-survivors, therapists, other helping professionals, lawyers and all others interested in learning more about ritual abuse.

Members of secret organizations, acting out perpetrators, and/or members of unsympathetic organizations are excluded from the conference. This is for the protection and safety of those in attendance.

People have told us that last year’s conference was the safest conference they have ever been to. But, this conference may not necessarily be safe for all survivors. S.M.A.R.T. recommends that you try to bring a support person that is familiar with mind control techniques and staying with that person or another safe person at all times.

Registration Waivers
Fee waiver application fees are $95.00 for two days and $50 for one day, and are non-refundable. Please do not send fees until your application is accepted. Please add $30 to attend the Friday night early registration, get together and dessert buffet. Applications will not be accepted after July 1, 2012, payment must be made by 7/14/12. Acceptance will partially be contingent on the number of paid applicants. Fee waiver registrees must volunteer for four hours at the conference. Unfortunately, we cannot afford to pay any travel expenses. Please E-mail or regular mail us for a fee waiver application.

Transportation
There is a free shuttle to and from the airport. Hotel parking is available at no charge for those attending the conference. Conference sponsors, etc. assume no responsibility for ground and/or air transportation arrangements. Conference sponsors cannot assume responsibility for additional expense or losses due to illnesses, cancellation of flights, strikes or other causes.

Accommodations
Room rates at the DoubleTree Hotel at Bradley International Airport (CT) are $89 a day for one person (not incl. tax), please mention the SMART 2012 conference to get the special rate. This rate is guaranteed until 7/7/12 or all rooms at the special rate are gone. Call 860-627-5171 for information. Lunch will be free both days for all conference attendees that register before July 20, 2012. The hotel has no information about the conference, other than room information.

Attendance Policy
Survivors should try to bring a support person with them to the conference. Presentation of a picture ID will be required of all conference participants, unless prior arrangements are made. This is for the protection of all participants. Some of the topics discussed may be very heavy for survivors. The conference is educational and not intended as therapy or treatment. Conference sponsors, cosponsor, speakers, organizers and exhibitors assume no responsibility for any reactions resulting from attending our conference. Statements made and materials exhibited and distributed by attendees, speakers and exhibitors are their own and don’t necessarily represent the policies or views of conference sponsors, cosponsor, speakers, exhibitors, organizers or attendees. Children are not permitted to attend the conference. S.M.A.R.T. and its representatives also reserve the right to remove anyone from the conference at any time. Photographing, audio taping and videotaping without written permission from S.M.A.R.T. are prohibited.

Exhibitors
Tables and half tables will be available for exhibitors. All exhibitors and their materials, etc. must be pre-approved. Write for more information. Whole tables are $25, half tables are $15. Take one table fee is $5.00 per item.

Volunteers
S.M.A.R.T. is currently looking for volunteers to help at the conference. Volunteer need to be registered at the conference. Please let S.M.A.R.T. know if you are interested.

Conference Donations
Please consider sponsoring a full or partial registree, so that all are able to attend the conference. Thank you. (Donations are not tax deductible.)

For those interested in helping to promote the conference, please write smartnews@aol.com for a press release to forward to others.

S.M.A.R.T. – Copyright 2012 (Entire Pamphlet and conference name) -
All rights reserved, no reproduction of any material without written permission from S.M.A.R.T.

NEW YORK — Thirty-three years to the day after 6-year-old Etan Patz vanished without a trace while walking to catch a school bus, a man accused of strangling him and dumping his body with the trash was arraigned on a murder charge on Friday in a locked hospital ward where he was being held as a suicide risk.

A lawyer for Pedro Hernandez, who was a teenage convenience store stock clerk at the time of the boy's disappearance, told the judge that his client is mentally ill and has a history of hallucinations....

Hernandez, a churchgoing father now living in Maple Shade, N.J., was arrested Thursday after making a surprise confession in a case that has bedeviled investigators and inspired dread in generations of New York City parents for three decades.

Etan disappeared on May 25, 1979, on his two-block walk to his bus stop in Manhattan. It was the first time his parents had let him walk the route by himself.

Next to the bus stop was a convenience store, where Hernandez, then 18, worked as a clerk. When police, acting on a tip, interviewed him this week, he said he lured Etan into the basement with a promise of a soda, choked him to death, then stuffed his body in a bag and left it with trash on the street a block away, police said....

PHILADELPHIA — A Roman Catholic church official testified Thursday that he typed a list of suspected pedophile priests on his computer, but couldn't find it 10 years later to show a grand jury.

Monsignor William Lynn endured a second day of searing cross-examination as he fights charges he endangered children by protecting priests. He's due back on the stand Tuesday.

Lynn denies locking the 1994 list in an archdiocese safe, where church employees say it was found in 2006 and then buried in a lawyer's files until this year.

The list was turned over to city prosecutors in February, days after Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua died. They've made it something of a smoking gun since the trial started in March.

Prosecutors believe it shows the Philadelphia archdiocese knew it had diagnosed pedophiles and other predators on duty, but left them in jobs with access to children....

Lynn is charged with endangering two children by leaving the Rev. James Brennan, a co-defendant charged with attempted rape, and former priest Edward Avery, who pleaded guilty to sexual assault, in ministry despite earlier red flags....

On Bevilacqua's orders, Molloy shredded Lynn's list of predators in February 1994, an act witnessed by Cistone, according to the "shred memo," which was shown in court....

MEXICO CITY -- Police in a Mexico City suburb arrested a mother and several relatives Thursday for allegedly gouging out the eyes of her 5-year-old son in what authorities said appeared to have been a drug-fueled ritual....

Mexico state prosecutor Isaac Acevedo told local media that a total of eight people had been detained and that investigators believed the mother herself gouged the boy's eyes out with her fingers. The boy's father was apparently not in the home at the time.

The crime appeared to have been part of a ritual, but was not apparently related to the Santa Muerte or Saint Death cult, some of whose followers were recently charged with the sacrificial killings of two 10-year-old boys and a 55-year-old woman in northern Sonora state, he said....

While statues of Saint Death are common in many poor Mexican neighborhoods, Chavez said no altar or statue of the figure was found in the Nezahualcoyotl home.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

APPLETON, Wis. (AP) — An Outagamie County jury on Monday awarded two brothers $700,000 in a fraud trial against the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay.

The civil jury found the diocese responsible Monday for concealing a former priest's history of child molestation.

Brothers Todd and Troy Merryfield sued the diocese in 2008, alleging the diocese was aware the Rev. John Feeney sexually assaulted others before 1978, when it assigned him to Freedom's St. Nicholas Church. Feeney was convicted in 2004 for the sexual assaults of the Merryfields and has already served his prison sentence.

Over the past week, Jeffrey Anderson and John Peterson, the Merryfields' attorneys, called several priests as witnesses. The priests testified there were allegations of inappropriate behavior by Feeney — that he swam naked with boys and showered with them after basketball games — long before he assaulted the Merryfields in 1978.

APPLETON — When an Outagamie County jury decided the Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay covered up a priest’s history of child molestation, it sent a message to the rest of Wisconsin, an advocate for sexual abuse victims said....

Rev. John Feeney molested the Merryfields in 1978, when they were 12 and 14 years old. In 2004, Feeney was convicted of sexual assault of the brothers. After the criminal trial, the brothers said they learned the priest had a history of similar assaults in the 1960s and 1970s that the diocese knew about and hid from parishioners at St. Nicholas Church in Freedom, which the Merryfields attended.

So in 2008, they sued the diocese and now-deceased Bishop Aloysius Wycislo, who was in charge of ensuring priests were fit to serve, for fraudulent misrepresentation and sought unspecified damages....

This webinar will depict my personal psychotherapeutic journey to explore the process of recovery from an extreme dissociative state, which was characterised by a complete amnesia for 10 years of my childhood and fragmentation of my self onto integration and recovery. Despite my therapist providing a safe reliable and contained space it took me a long time to trust her or appreciate that she could keep me in mind. She was empathic, compassionate and skilled and the relationship we developed was core to my survival and my recovery. Over years she bore witness to the dissociated fragments of trauma returning to my consciousness and the intense emotions which were overwhelming me. Through a committed analytical psychotherapeutic process she guided me from terror and confusion through chaos and onto acceptance and understanding.

It will explore the changes in me from having little insight into myself, my inner world, relationships or functioning as a whole being. I now know my own unique feelings and choices, and have the capacity to reflect, form deeper relationships and live a full rich life.

Dr. Cathy Kezelman is President at ASCA (Adults Surviving Child Abuse), an Australian national charity which advocates for a trauma informed approach to care and trauma specific services for survivors of complex trauma secondary to child abuse and neglect. She is a director of MHCC (Mental Health Co-ordinating Council NSW). She is an active advocate for Australian adult survivors of childhood trauma and informed mental health responses to trauma. Early in 2010 she published her memoir, 'Innocence Revisited' - a tale in parts, her story of recovery from childhood trauma. Cathy is also a mother of four adult children and a foster child.
REGISTRATION
Registration closes Thursday evening June 14, 2012

1. Your name
2. The webinar you wish to attend: "The aftereffects of extreme child abuse and the resiliency of the human spirit."
3. Amount and method of payment (check, PayPal, money order)
4. Your preferred e-mail address (so we can send you instructions)
5. The name you will be using for the webinar. (This does not have to be your real name or your message board screen name.)

You will receive a confirmation email immediately and an invitation link and instructions after the registration closes
COST
Webinars are on a sliding scale from $50.00 to full scholarship (while we offer full scholarships for webinars please consider paying whatever you are able to. Even $5 will help to cover the cost of the webinar provider). Please remember to factor in the cost of the telephone call if you don’t have a computer headset. The PayPal button is near the bottom of the page at http://www.survivorship.org/webinars.html

If you wish to pay by check please send it to: Survivorship, Family Justice Center, 470 27th Street, Oakland, CA 94612.
PAST WEBINARS
Survivorship members may listen to past webinars in the members’ section.
For information on joining Survivorship, go to http://www.survivorship.org/about/membership.html

Monday, May 21, 2012

The purpose of this website is to help stop ritual abuse by sharing information, links, and resources.

Ritual abuse is an extreme sadistic form of abuse of children and non-consenting adults. It is methodical, systematic sexual, physical, emotional and spiritual abuse, which often includes mind control, torture, and highly illegal and immoral activities such as murder, child pornography and prostitution. The abuse is justified by a religious or political ideology.http://ritualabuse.ca

Saturday, May 19, 2012

ScienceDaily (May 15, 2012) — Child abuse or neglect are strong predictors of major health and emotional problems, but little is known about how the chronicity of the maltreatment may increase future harm apart from other risk factors in a child's life.

In a new study published in the current issue of the journal Pediatrics, Melissa Jonson-Reid, PhD, child welfare expert and a professor at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, looked at how chronic maltreatment impacted the future health and behavior of children and adults.

The study tracked children by number of child maltreatment reports (zero to four or more) and followed the children into early adulthood, by which time some of the children had become parents.

The study sought to determine how well the number of child maltreatment reports predicted poor outcomes in adolescence, such as delinquency, substance abuse in the teen years or getting a sexually transmitted disease.

"For every measure studied, a more chronic history of child maltreatment reports was powerfully predictive of worse outcomes," Jonson-Reid says.

"For most outcomes, having a single maltreatment report put children at a 20 percent to 50 percent higher risk than non-maltreated comparison children....

In models of adult outcomes, children with four or more reports were about least twice as likely to later abuse their own children and have contact with the mental health system, even when controlling for the negative outcomes during adolescence." Jonson-Reid says that there appears to be good reason to put resources into preventing ongoing maltreatment.

"Successfully interrupting chronic child maltreatment may well reduce risk of a wide range of other costly child and adolescent health and behavioral problems," she says.

Jonson-Reid cites a recently published Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study estimating lifetime costs for a single year's worth of children reported for maltreatment at $242 billion....

The study also found that maltreatment predicts a range of negative adolescent outcomes, and those adolescent outcomes then predict poor adult outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS: Child maltreatment chronicity as measured by official reports is a robust indicator of future negative outcomes across a range of systems, but this relationship may desist for certain adult outcomes once childhood adverse events are controlled. Although primary and secondary prevention remain important approaches, this study suggests that enhanced tertiary prevention may pay high dividends across a range of medical and behavioral domains.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - The prosecution rested its case on Thursday against Philadelphia Archdiocese Monsignor William Lynn, the most senior U.S. clergyman to go to trial in the Roman Catholic Church's pedophilia scandal.

During nearly eight weeks of startling testimony about the lurid lives of predatory priests, Lynn, a former secretary of the clergy, has sat stoically in his clerical garb as the case unfolded in an often-packed courtroom.

Lynn, 61, is charged with child endangerment and conspiracy over accusations he covered up child sex abuse allegations against priests, many of whom were simply transferred to unsuspecting parishes.

He faces the possibility of 28 years in prison if convicted.

The trial that started on March 26 has drawn a spotlight on the Philadelphia Archdiocese, the nation's sixth largest with 1.5 million members, in a case experts say is likely being watched by the Vatican.

Defense lawyers promised to begin their case on Tuesday to bolster Lynn's argument that he acted responsibly, reporting allegations to higher officials, but was overruled.

Lynn served in essence as the personnel director of the archdiocese under the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, the long-time archbishop of Philadelphia....

Monday, May 14, 2012

New task force targets traffickers who force children into the sex trade

FBI, Chicago police join forces to go after pimps

By Annie Sweeney, Chicago Tribune reporter

May 14, 2012

Inside the Harrison Police District station, the officers sat in a semicircle to be briefed about the shift ahead in one of Chicago's most beleaguered areas.

But on this recent day, the topic was not the shootings and murders on these West Side streets, but a crime often pushed far back into the shadows — the thousands of young girls and women who are prostituted, pushed into the violence of Chicago's sex trade.

FBI Special Agent Jonathan Williamson and Chicago police Sgt. Traci Walker were there to announce a new joint effort by the FBI and Chicago police to target child traffickers in the city....

The clandestine nature of sex trafficking makes it difficult to know exactly how many young women and girls work in prostitution, said DePaul College of Law researcher Jody Raphael. She has estimated that in Chicago as many as 25,000 are involved in the commercial sex trade, including exotic dancers.

Many who work the street or are sold on the Internet started out in the business in their teens. A 2008 survey of Chicago women working in prostitution who were 25 or younger and under the control of a pimp found that they began at 16 on average.

The younger the girl or woman, Raphael believes, the more likely it is she has a pimp or trafficker, in part because she is often recruited first into a romantic relationship.

Over the past decade, advocates have pushed law enforcement to re-examine how it views the crime of prostitution — especially for the young adults caught in the trade. Today, investigators are going after traffickers on one hand while extending social services to women working in prostitution. Chicago police, Cook County and federal authorities meet monthly to target offenders for the toughest punishment.http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-human-trafficking-20120514,0,7415972.story

Sunday, May 13, 2012

An uneasy Backpage alliance
Anti-trafficking activists may turn to the site for tips, but some say we're ultimately better without it
By Tracy Clark-Flory
Saturday, May 12, 2012

In the fight against child sex trafficking, Backpage.com is seen as both friend and foe. The online classified site screens ads, reports thousands of potential cases of exploitation, assists in police investigations and acts as a resource for those searching for trafficked kids. But even some activists who use the site for good see greater benefit in the site shutting down its adult section — a move called for recently in Senate and House resolutions. This uneasy alliance reveals the complexities of the problem at hand.

In the past 16 months — the length of time Backpage has been screening and reporting potential trafficking ads — the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received nearly 5,000 tips from the site. The center’s president, Ernie Allen, tells me, “There’s no question they have undertaken the screening and reporting process very aggressively.” Ultimately, though, the question is whether it’s enough.

After working with Craigslist in a similar fashion for almost two years, he says, “What we basically concluded was that it wasn’t working. The price you pay to allow this kind of activity to proliferate was too great.” Eventually, Craigslist shuttered its adult section and, Allen says, “the total volume of these ads dropped dramatically, and most of that has not come back.”

If Backpage were to do the same thing, “it would dramatically reduce the scale and scope of the problem,” he says. “Some of it would relocate, but I don’t think it would proliferate at the same level.” Allen says that NCMEC doesn’t make “public pronouncements about the policy stuff,” but his message is clear: Shuttering Backpage’s adult section would make things better — but, short of that, NCMEC is devoted to helping the site reduce harm....http://www.salon.com/2012/05/13/an_uneasy_backpage_alliance/singleton/

MONTERREY, Mexico — Forty-nine decapitated and mutilated bodies were found Sunday dumped on a highway connecting the northern Mexican metropolis of Monterrey to the U.S. border in what appears to be the latest blow in an escalating war of intimidation among drug gangs.

Mexico's organized crime groups often abandon multiple bodies in public places as warnings to their rivals, and authorities said at least a few of the recent victims had tattoos of the Santa Muerte cult popular among drug traffickers. But Nuevo Leon state Attorney General Adrian de la Garza said he did not rule out the possibility that the victims were U.S.-bound migrants.

The bodies of the 43 men and six women were found in the town of San Juan on the non-toll highway to the border city of Reynosa at about 4 a.m. (5 a.m. EDT; 0900 GMT), forcing police and troops to close off the highway. Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene said at a news conference that a banner left at the site bore a message with the Zetas drug cartel taking responsibility for the massacre.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/13/monterrey-drug-war-bodies-highway_n_1512811.html

Friday, May 11, 2012

The Survivorship 2012 conference is almost here. This is going to be a wonderful opportunity for everyone to network with each other, share stories, give each other hope, and learn some new ways of working with our histories. Please note that the conference prices are going up in a week, so now would be a great time to get your application and then sign up for the conference.

A reminder to the professionals, that all the workshops for professionals are available for CEU credits.

After May 10th the conference rates will go up by $5 p/d and at the conference anyone who has not preregistered will be charged an extra $10 p/d. Also after May 14th there will be no lunch included, but the rates will be the same.

Also, the concert Saturday night called "An Evening of Healing" is really going to be a spectacular event. Advance tickets are only $20 and the tickets at the door are $25.

For Ultra-Orthodox in Abuse Cases, Prosecutor Has Different Rules
By RAY RIVERA and SHARON OTTERMAN
Published: May 10, 2012

An influential rabbi came last summer to the Brooklyn district attorney, Charles J. Hynes, with a message: his ultra-Orthodox advocacy group was instructing adherent Jews that they could report allegations of child sexual abuse to district attorneys or the police only if a rabbi first determined that the suspicions were credible.

The pronouncement was a blunt challenge to Mr. Hynes’s authority. But the district attorney “expressed no opposition or objection,” the rabbi, Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, recalled.

In fact, when Mr. Hynes held a Hanukkah party at his office in December, he invited many ultra-Orthodox rabbis affiliated with the advocacy group, Agudath Israel of America. He even chose Rabbi Zwiebel, the group’s executive vice president, as keynote speaker at the party.

Mr. Hynes has won election six times as district attorney thanks in part to support from ultra-Orthodox rabbis, who lead growing communities in neighborhoods like Borough Park and Crown Heights. But in recent years, as allegations of child sexual abuse have shaken the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, victims’ rights groups have expressed concern that he is not vigorously pursuing these cases because of his deep ties to the rabbis.

Many of the rabbis consider sexual abuse accusations to be community matters best handled by rabbinical authorities, who often do not report their conclusions to the police.

In 2009, as criticism of his record mounted, Mr. Hynes set up a program to reach out to ultra-Orthodox victims of child sexual abuse. Called Kol Tzedek (Voice of Justice in Hebrew), the program is intended to “ensure safety in the community and to fully support those affected by abuse,” his office said.

In recent months, Mr. Hynes and his aides have said the program has contributed to an effective crackdown on child sexual abuse among ultra-Orthodox Jews, saying it had led to 95 arrests involving more than 120 victims.

But Mr. Hynes has taken the highly unusual step of declining to publicize the names of defendants prosecuted under the program — even those convicted. At the same time, he continues to publicize allegations of child sexual abuse against defendants who are not ultra-Orthodox Jews....

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Ultra-Orthodox Shun Their Own for Reporting Child Sexual Abuse
By SHARON OTTERMAN and RAY RIVERA May 9, 2012

The first shock came when Mordechai Jungreis learned that his mentally disabled teenage son was being molested in a Jewish ritual bathhouse in Brooklyn. The second came after Mr. Jungreis complained, and the man accused of the abuse was arrested.

Old friends started walking stonily past him and his family on the streets of Williamsburg. Their landlord kicked them out of their apartment. Anonymous messages filled their answering machine, cursing Mr. Jungreis for turning in a fellow Jew....

Abuse victims and their families have been expelled from religious schools and synagogues, shunned by fellow ultra-Orthodox Jews and targeted for harassment intended to destroy their businesses. Some victims’ families have been offered money, ostensibly to help pay for therapy for the victims, but also to stop pursuing charges, victims and victims’ advocates said....

Some ultra-Orthodox Jews want to keep abuse allegations quiet to protect the reputation of the community, and the family of the accused. And rabbinical authorities, eager to maintain control, worry that inviting outside scrutiny could erode their power, said Samuel Heilman, a professor of Jewish studies at Queens College....

In Brooklyn, of the 51 molesting cases involving the ultra-Orthodox community that the district attorney’s office says it has closed since 2009, nine were dismissed because the victims backed out. Others ended with plea deals because the victims’ families were fearful.

Tracy is a married mother of four who says her life was forever changed the day she was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, more commonly known as multiple personality disorder. She says she has five personalities, or “alters:” Emily, a frightened 5-year-old child; Becky, who cuts, bruises, chokes and has threatened to kill Tracy; Susie, an innocent 10-year-old child; Samantha, “the CEO” and Miss Anne, “the caretaker.” Tracy says that she’ll oftentimes black out when an alter takes over and that the transition back to being Tracy can make her physically ill. Joined by her husband, Tyler, the couple says Tracy's alter egos and unpredictable moods are causing strain on their marriage, and they're struggling to explain her erratic behavior to their children. Is Tracy’s diagnosis real?

Then, in a Dr. Phil first, Tracy transitions between her alters onstage. Speaking as Becky and Susie, can Dr. Phil gather insight into Tracy’s disorder? Tracy’s therapist, Dr. Peggy Avent, joins the show and explains her diagnosis. Could a secret from Tracy’s childhood hold the key to understanding her illness? Tracy’s mom, Sandy, weighs in and shares why she blames herself.
http://drphil.com/shows/show/1846/

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Lessons from Penn State: Training Mandated Reporters
By James R. Marsh on May 8, 2012

From a special edition of Centerpiece, the official newsletter of the National Child Protection Training Center:

The recent child sexual abuse scandal at Penn State University, in which multiple, well-educated professionals declined to report clear evidence of maltreatment, is not an isolated instance. Twenty years of research documents what every child protection professional in America already knows—that most people most of the time won’t report even clear evidence of maltreatment or otherwise intervene to save a child.

Although less clear, the Penn State scandal also draws attention to an equally disturbing problem—that even when reports of abuse are made, these reports are often handled ineffectually if not incompetently. According to media reports of the Penn State scandal, investigators and prosecutors did review a 1998 report of inappropriate intimate contact with a boy.

The alleged perpetrator, Jerry Sandusky, even admitted to two university detectives that he hugged the boy while both were naked....

Although this recorded admission of Sandusky’s is an incriminating if not out-right confession of indecent contact with a boy, no charges or additional actions were taken.

The inability, even failure of criminal justice authorities to take meaningful action to protect a child is also not an isolated anecdote.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

"If the right thing had been done by Father (now Cardinal) Brady, and Bishop McKiernan, the unspeakable abuse of the other children I had sought to save would not have happened."

Cardinal Brady apologises to abuse victim Brendan Boland 7 May 2012

Cardinal Sean Brady has said he wants to personally apologise to a man who was abused as a 14-year-old boy by paedophile priest Brendan Smyth.

Cardinal Brady has come under pressure after a BBC documentary.

It accused him of failing to act on abuse allegations when he was a priest.

He said he had no intention of stepping aside but hoped an assistant - with succession rights - would be quickly appointed to his archdiocese.

Speaking to Irish broadcaster RTE on Monday, Cardinal Brady said he wanted to "apologise without hesitation" to Brendan Boland "and to any victim".

"I offered that apology last Christmas, I offered to come and see him in person," he said.....

Last week, a BBC documentary uncovered new revelations about an internal Church investigation into clerical child sex abuse in 1975.

It said a teenage boy who had been sexually abused by Fr Brendan Smyth gave the names and addresses of other children who were at risk from the paedophile priest to Cardinal Brady, who at that time was a 36-year-old priest.

He passed the allegations to his superiors but did not inform the police or the children's parents.

Fr Smyth continued to sexually assault one of the boys for a year after that.

Brendan Boland who, as a 14-year-old boy, was sworn to secrecy by Cardinal Seán Brady after testifying that he had been sexually abused by the paedophile Fr Brendan Smyth, has welcomed the Cardinal's public apology to him....

Mr Boland added: “I note that Cardinal Brady has now acknowledged that the information I gave him regarding other children being abused or at risk of abuse, should have been passed on to their parents in 1975.

“When I confided in the Youth Club to Father McShane in 1975, he did the right and proper thing in immediately bringing me to my parents and telling them what had been happening to me. It was only after that, that he informed his Superiors.

An American lawyer who was abused by Fr Brendan Smyth has said that the Vatican has "blood on its hands" for its failure to inform Irish Church authorities that it had censured Smyth for abuse in the United States years before the 1975 secret inquiry.

Helen McGonigle has learnt that the Vatican’s Congregation for the Religious issued a decree that Smyth wasn’t allowed to take Confession and was to be supervised following abuse complaints made in the late 60s.

Yet, in 1975 the Bishop of Kilmore and the Abbot of Killnacrott agreed a similar censure of Smyth — seemingly oblivious that a similar reprimand had already been handed down.

"Why didn’t the bishop or the abbot inform the Papal Nuncio of this second censure? Why weren’t they informed by the Vatican of the original censure? It is very clear that the 1968 censure was not enforced. What does all of this say about the organisation that is the Catholic Church," Ms McGonigle asked.

Ms McGonigle has pleaded with police on both sides of the border to investigate Cardinal Brady for his possible role in perverting the course of justice and endangering children.

She pointed to current cases being taken against Catholic priests in the US for failing to report abuse allegations to the civil authorities.

Vatican likely to replace Irish Cardinal Brady with new deputy bishop
Report says Cardinal Brady likely to be gone to retirement by end of year
By JOHN O'BRIEN, IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

The Vatican is expected to replace Ireland’s leading church figure. Cardinal Sean Brady, and will appoint a coadjutor or deputy bishop by the end of this year who will eventually be his replacement.

The Irish Times has reported that the Vatican move will happen because of massive public pressure on Brady over his actions concerning the notorious pedophile priest Fr. Brendan Smyth.

Brady is primate of all Ireland, essentially Ireland’s leading Catholic figure, based in Armagh.

The Vatican is expected to act after a BBC documentary alleged that Brady was far more involved in a cover up of Smyth than he admitted at the time in 1987. Brady, then a young priest, served on a panel investigating Smyth. No action was taken against Smyth and he went on to abuse many more kids.

The Vatican at first defended Brady and said he had their full confidence. However, Irish leader Enda Kenny, Deputy leader Eamon Gilmore, and Northern Irish leader Martin McGuinness, have all called on Brady to resign....

Brady, 73, managed to keep his position after an earlier controversy about Smith and how he handled the case. This latest crisis, however, is seen as far more serious.

If Brady is forced to step down, it will be the 2nd major figure that Fr. Brendan Smyth has been instrumental in forcing out of office.

Former Irish leader Albert Reynolds also resigned after becoming involved in the Smyth controversy....

Advisers backed resignation of Cardinal Sean Brady to save Catholic Church's image
By Greg Harkin Saturday, 5 May 2012
Cardinal Sean Brady was backed by his senior advisers when he offered to resign more than two years ago.

The head of the Catholic Church in Ireland informed the Vatican of his "willingness to stand aside" as one of a range of possible options when his role in the Brendan Smyth controversy became public in 2010.

And his senior advisers backed the move -- expressing concern that the Smyth controversy would damage the church.

The cardinal is now planning an alternative exit strategy.

Cardinal Brady had asked the Pope for 'Episcopal help' or an auxiliary bishop two years ago when the controversy first erupted, but the bishop was not appointed.

However, the church confirmed yesterday that the request has been "reactivated".

As Cardinal Sean Brady turns his back on calls to quit, pressure mounts on police to get involved

By Liam Clarke
Saturday, 5 May 2012

Pressure is growing on the PSNI to interview Cardinal Sean Brady over the most recent claims in the child sex abuse scandal.

The police didn’t act two years ago when the revelations that Dr Brady was present at the interview of two victims of paedophile priest Brendan Smyth first emerged.

One of the young victims, Brendan Boland, gave the names and addresses of several other children he knew were being abused by Smyth.

Despite this evidence nothing was done to warn the children’s parents or inform the police, and Smyth went on to abuse dozens more children over subsequent decades until he was finally brought to justice in the 1990s, dying in prison in 1997.

Tracy is a married mother of four who says her life was forever changed the day she was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, more commonly known as multiple personality disorder. She says she has five personalities, or “alters:” Emily, a frightened 5-year-old child; Becky, who cuts, bruises, chokes and has threatened to kill Tracy; Susie, an innocent 10-year-old child; Samantha, “the CEO;” and Miss Anne, “the caretaker.” Tracy says that she’ll often times black out when an alter takes over and that the transition back to being Tracy can make her physically ill. Joined by her husband, Tyler, the couple says Tracy's alter egos and unpredictable moods are causing strain on their marriage, and they're struggling to explain her erratic behavior to their children. Is Tracy’s diagnosis real? Then, in a Dr. Phil first, Tracy transitions between her alters onstage. Speaking as Becky and Emily, can Dr. Phil gather insight into Tracy’s disorder? Tracy’s therapist, Dr. Peggy Avent, joins the show and explains her diagnosis. Could a secret from Tracy’s childhood hold the key to understanding her illness? Tracy’s mom, Sandy, weighs in and shares why she blames herself.

A WOMAN, who was sexually abused as a child by paedophile priest Brendan Smyth, today called for a criminal investigation into the actions of Cardinal Sean Brady.

American lawyer Helen McGonigle, (50) who now campaigns for survivors of clerical sexual abuse, said the All Ireland Primate should resign for not alerting other families to Smyth’s horrific catalogue of abuse.

She was molested by Smyth in the late 1960s in Rhode Island, New York.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster today, Ms McGonigle said she was "outraged" by Cardinal Brady's response to allegations in a BBC documentary broadcast this week.

She said Cardinal Sean Brady's "duty as a human" was to protect children and his failure to act properly on Brendan Boland's complaint – when he named other five other children being abused - was "unforgivable".

The Cardinal had shown "arrogance and insensitivity", Ms McGonigle said.

She was just six-years-old and preparing for the sacrament of penance when she was abused by Smyth, who led her from her classmates into the sacristy of the church where he molested her....

Smyth was already known to have sexually molested children when he was sent to the McGonigles' parish in the summer of 1965. Using his usual modus operandi, he befriended the family and they bonded over a shared Irish ancestry.

Speaking to the Irish Independent two years ago, Ms McGonigle, who is an attorney living in Connecticut, said: "From 1967 until about 1970 he molested me. He was caught in my parish molesting children as early as 1968....

While any intervention by Cardinal Brady in 1975 would have been too late to save the children of East Greenwich, Ms McGonigle said many others could have been protected....

She said Cardinal Brady must resign and he should be charged with obstruction of justice.

Abuse survivor: Without courage or integrity Cardinal Brady failed and it is unforgivable 5/3/12

....Now an executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, O’Gorman was not satisfied with the similar but weak defence offered by Scicluna and Brady yesterday that back in 1975 Brady was only a ‘notary’ in the interviews.

“Authority is not needed to walk into a Garda station to report the abuse and rape of children. It takes courage and a sense of moral decency,” he said, adding that it was important to remember that Brady was a highly-educated and qualified Canon lawyer at the time. He was also 35-years-old.

UBC Law Professor Benjamin Perrin has recently been appointed as Special Advisor, Legal Affairs & Policy in the Prime Minister's Office in Ottawa....

In 2010, Professor Perrin published his first book, Invisible Chains: Canada's Underground World of Human Trafficking (Penguin Canada, 2010). The book, an expose on the issue of human trafficking in Canada, was named one of the top books of the year by The Globe and Mail.

He has testified before a number of Parliamentary committees studying the issue of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation. In 2010, Parliament adopted Bill C-268, a private members' bill calling for mandatory minimum sentences for child traffickers. Professor Perrin proposed and helped draft the bill, which was first introduced to the House of Commons in January 2009 by Member of Parliament Joy Smith....

Professor Perrin...is co-editor of Human Trafficking: Exploring the International Nature, Concerns and Complexities (CRC Press, 2011), and editor of Modern Warfare: Armed Groups, Private Militaries, Humanitarian Organizations and the Law (UBC Press, 2012).http://www.law.ubc.ca/news/2012/may/05_01_12_perrin.html

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Note: This conference is going to have an excellent group of speakers. If you live on the West Coast of the US, please try to make every effort to attend this conference and support the work of Survivorship. There are reduced rates for low income people. http://www.survivorship.org/2012conference.html

Hello Everyone,

The Survivorship 2012 conference is almost here. This is going to be a wonderful opportunity for everyone to network with each other, share stories, give each other hope, and learn some new ways of working with our histories. Please note that the conference prices are going up in a week, so now would be a great time to get your application and then sign up for the conference.

A reminder to the professionals, that all the workshops for professionals are available for CEU credits.

After May 10th the conference rates will go up by $5 p/d and at the conference anyone who has not preregistered will be charged an extra $10 p/d. Also after May 14th there will be no lunch included, but the rates will be the same.

Also, the concert Saturday night called "An Evening of Healing" is really going to be a spectacular event. Advance tickets are only $20 and the tickets at the door are $25.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Part One - This World The Shame of the Catholic Church
Decades of clerical abuse and cover up have left the Catholic church in Ireland at breaking point. Now Darragh MacIntyre reveals new evidence of a scandal that goes to the very top of the Irish church.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ma9ALRpEVw

The Shame of the Catholic Church
Decades of clerical abuse and cover up have left the Catholic church in Ireland at breaking point. Now Darragh MacIntyre reveals new evidence of a scandal that goes to the very top of the Irish church.

This World: The Shame of the Catholic Church, BBC Two, review
Damian Thompson reviews the BBC This World documentary, The Shame of the Catholic Church, which investigated child abuse claims.
By Damian Thompson 02 May 2012

Paedophiles are cunning. It’s one of those things we’re always told but doesn’t sink in – until we’re confronted by the sort of detail revealed in last night’s BBC Two documentary This World: The Shame of the Catholic Church. Father Eugene Greene of Donegal liked to fiddle with altar boys, and he knew how to go about it. He’d invite one of them to drive his car. That’s pretty exciting when you’re 12 years old – and an honour, too, given that it’s Father’s car. “Both hands on the wheel!” said the priest. And then he’d reach over. I don’t think I need say any more. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/9241955/This-World-The-Shame-of-the-Catholic-Church-BBC-Two-review.html

Cops: Father tries to sacrifice son in cemetery
By R. Stickney, NBCSanDiego.com 4/30/12
A father is in custody, accused of attempting to sacrifice his own son in a San Diego area cemetery.

Joseph Ramirez, 30, took his family to Mount Hope Cemetery Saturday afternoon and told them his dead grandmother told him to sacrifice the 8-year-old boy, according to San Diego police.

Dad Attempts Son's Sacrifice at Cemetery: Cops
Joseph Ramirez, 30, took his family to Mount Hope Cemetery Saturday around 4:30 p.m. and told them his dead grandmother told him to sacrifice the 8-year-old boy, according to San Diego police.

Cardinal Brady became the Catholic Primate of all-Ireland in 1996, but the appointment that may define his career was made 21 years earlier.

As a Bishop's secretary in 1975, he was tasked with investigating a complaint of sexual abuse made against a fellow priest, the man who would later be exposed as Ireland's most prolific paedophile, Fr Brendan Smyth....

Following two major and damning reports into the handling of clerical abuse in Ireland, it emerged that Ireland's most senior Catholic Priest had himself been involved in a process in which sex abuse was kept from the civil authorities....

However, McIntyre's BBC investigation reveals that the teenage victim, Brendan Boland, had also told the then Father Brady and his colleagues, about other children who were being abused by Smyth.

He even furnished the investigating priest and his colleagues with their names and addresses.

Father Brady interviewed one of those boys, who corroborated each of Brendan Boland's claims before being sworn to secrecy.

The DSM-5 Task Force is presently considering whether to adopt parental alienation disorder (PAD) as a mental illness. Although controversy has surrounded PAD since its inception in 1985, pro-PAD groups and individuals have breathed new life into the push to establish it as a mental health diagnosis. In this analysis, we argue that it would be a serious mistake to adopt parental alienation disorder as a formal mental illness in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5)....

The Origin of PAS

Richard Gardner, formerly a psychoanalyst and child psychiatrist on the clinical faculty at Columbia University, introduced the term parental alienation syndrome in his 1985 debut article on the subject....he openly supported abolishing child abuse reporting laws and controversially declared that sexual abuse cases are “turn-ons” for those involved in the court process, including lawyers and judges. Despite these unusual claims, Gardner was highly sought as an expert witness, testifying in over 400 child custody cases before the end of his career....

Controversial since its inception, PAS has compelled many scholars to write articles critical of Gardner's theory. Kelly and Johnston have been noteworthy critics of PAS, writing in their 2001 article, “The Alienated Child, A Reformulation of Parental Alienation Syndrome, ” that “PAS terminology has led to widespread confusion and misunderstanding in judicial, legal, and psychological circles” (Ref. 9, p 250). They also highlighted the lack of empirical support for PAS as a psychiatric diagnosis and the barring of PAS testimony in many courtrooms....

Criticisms of PAS have not been limited to mental health professionals, as legal scholars have also been loath to accept the premise that parental alienation should be formally classified as a mental illness. For example, in her 2002 article, “Parental Alienation Syndrome and Alienation: Getting it Wrong in Child Custody Cases,”12 Carol S. Bruch, JD, voiced concern with Gardner's tendency to cite his own, non-peer-reviewed books and publications on PAS. She noted that in one typical article, Gardner cited 10 sources: 9 writings of his own and 1 by Sigmund Freud. She further refuted Gardner's suggestion that PAS was a generally accepted psychiatric phenomenon by pointing out that, when the validity of PAS was challenged in court, his testimony was often excluded.

In our opinion, Gardner's approach of self-publishing books and then citing himself as an authoritative reference in the scholarly literature went beyond simple self-aggrandizement; it was frankly misleading. We agree with Ms. Bruch that the inaccurate portrayal of PAS as an accepted and credible diagnosis gets it wrong on many levels. http://www.jaapl.org/content/40/1/127.full